The BIG Picture

After a first interest rate cut in June, the Bank of Canada (BoC) again lowered its key overnight rate by 25 basis points at its meeting Wednesday, to 4.5%. The move was in line with market and our own expectations ahead of the announcement.

The latest Business Outlook Survey largely confirmed further normalizing in a few key areas that the central bank has deemed critical to future inflation trends.

The summer has gotten off to a reasonable start with global equities moving higher in recent weeks.

There hasn’t been this much rental housing under construction in Canada in a generation—which is encouraging news given the acute supply shortages across the country. But even more construction will be needed as rental demand continues to rise rapidly...

Global equities have been somewhat directionless over the past few weeks. One notable development was the Canadian inflation report for May, which was higher than expected for the first time this year.

Gen AI holds the potential to get Canada’s economy growing again through accelerated innovation and productivity. The big question is whether Canadian businesses and public sector organizations will seize the moment.

Canadian and European equities have been weaker in recent weeks, though year-to-date gains remain respectable. Meanwhile the U.S. equity market continues to display strength, driven by the large cap technology sector.

Evidence has continued to build that the current high level of interest rates is no longer needed. All ducks appear to be in a row for the Bank of Canada (BoC) to kick-start the policy easing cycle and lower the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 4...

Over the past week, Canadian banks reported their second-quarter results. Much of the focus has understandably been on the outsized stock price reactions. Typically, any moves in the Canadian bank stocks related to earnings results are relatively tame...